BPI announces new library arrangement

Yeah, we all obsess about why certain artists choose not to make their new music available via the streaming services from initial release (yes, Ms Rihanna, we are looking at you), but what about CDs available for borrowing from libraries? CDs and libraries still being things that exist. Apparently.

Record label trade body the BPI last week announced that, from the new year, libraries will be able to stock new albums on CD for lending as soon as said new records are released.

A previous agreement between the UK record industry and the library sector said that libraries would wait for three months after a new album was released before making it available for borrowing, so that labels could have time to persuade people to actually buy a new release before they could go nab it for free borrowing from their local book repository.

The new arrangement will kick off in the new year, initially for a six month pilot period.

Confirming the new deal, Kiaron Whitehead, the BPI’s General Counsel, told CMU: “This arrangement demonstrates the flexibility of copyright. It enables public libraries to test the demand of customers to lend CDs at the same time they are released for sale”.

Meanwhile Phil Bradley, President of the Chartered Institute Of Library And Information Professionals, added: “CILIP believes fiercely in the need for libraries to be able to give users exactly what they want. In a world where instant downloads, Spotify and streaming are the norm, we hope that this new agreement will help to do that. We will monitor this six month trial closely, and if successful we hope to make it permanent”.